We have almost parted ways with old man winter and I am ready to welcome Mother Nature, and the many beautiful gifts she will bring. The earth will awaken at the end of the month with the first day of spring, and soon, vibrant flowers will shower the landscape.

Although we are long past the holiday season, March is full of magnificent moments to celebrate: Dolls’ Day in Japan, the first day of spring, Women’s History Month and of course, my favorite, St. Patrick’s Day, when my Irish eyes will be smiling for sure! I offer you some resources to celebrate these days, as well as some additional treasures to give you a head start for Earth Day on April 22.

February offered some lovely storytelling venues for me that ran the gamut from schools to zoos! During winter vacation I shared some stories at the amazing Springfield Museums in Springfield, MA. They offered “A Night at the Museum,” where the children were encouraged to explore the fun-packed facilities in their pajamas, then settle in to listen to my program of Spooktacular Tales. We had a ton of fun! Later in the week I shared Tales From the Treasure Chest with a very enthusiastic audience at the beautiful Buttonwood Park Zoo in New Bedford, MA. It is listed as one of the 12 best small zoos in America. Both the museum and zoo are lovely jewels. If you are ever in either area, be sure to stop in.

I ended the month with the spectacular Story Café at ArtWorks last night. We were treated to the funny, thoughtful and warm performance of our featured storyteller Meg Gilman of New Hampshire. Our open mic portion offered the talents of storytellers Carolyn Stearns and Tim Brillant, singer Sarah Chouinard and the poetry of E. Sparrow. It was an eclectic, invigorating evening, the perfect way to finish February with a flourish!

I hope you can join us on March 14 when we will be regaled with Irish Tales and Music by storyteller Norah Dooley and harpist Susan Miron. Please come for a visit and get your Irish on!

Erin Go Braugh! (Ireland forever!)

Karen

STORY SITES

The flowers will soon be in bloom and that calls for some stories about spring and the sun!

Earth Care – World Folktales to Talk About - A limited preview of this excellent book by Margaret Read MacDonald. You can read some of the folktales online but I bet you will want a copy of your own. http://tinyurl.com/aap7ug

Teacher’s Resource Guide - Japanese Art and Culture Outreach Kit - Although you may not be able to borrow the actual kit, there are many helpful curriculum ideas in this guide you may duplicate on your own. http://tinyurl.com/cby5p6

The Month of March - Preschool – K - To teach children about alphabet letters, the weather in March, spatial concepts, opposites and St. Patrick's Day. http://tinyurl.com/de3blu

Distinguished Women of Past and Present - This is truly an amazing site! The stories and additional links offer new insights into the remarkable contributions women have made throughout history categorized by subject matter or name. You could spend a century here and not finish! http://www.distinguishedwomen.com/

Field Trip Earth - A global resource for teachers, students and wildlife proponents offering folktales, educator resources, essays and information on conservation projects around the world. http://tinyurl.com/cnmfkw

March 20-22 Sharing the Fire/The Northeast Storytelling Conference Workshops focused on using storytelling in a wide variety of settings. A preconference on Therapeutic Storytelling and Storytelling in Education is offered as well. http://www.lanes.org/

April 24-26 Northlands Storytelling Network Conference - Come to the Midwest for a weekend filled with workshops, swaps, concerts and fringe performances all in a beautiful, rural setting. http://www.northlands.net/conference.html

June 22-25 Telling Stories to Children with Judith Black in Marblehead, MA. Morning workshops, afternoon coaching, telling to authentic children, good food and informal gatherings shape these days. Massachusetts PDPs offered. For more information contact Judith Black at jb@storiesalive.com or phone: 781-631-4417 http://www.tellingstoriestochildren.com/

June 28–July 2 Summer Storytelling Institute Retreat in the Rolling Hills of Western Massachusetts. Go to www.ronatales.com or call 413-586-0624 for info and Early Bird Specials! Limited to 14 people; 34 PDP's for Massachusetts Teachers.

SOMETHING EXTRA

"Neither genius, fame, nor love show the greatness of the soul.
Only kindness can do that."

- Jean Baptiste Henri Lacordaire (1802-1861)

Donors Choose.org - This simple yet brilliant idea was started by a teacher. It is an easy way to provide students in need with resources that our public schools often lack. Teachers submit project proposals for materials or experiences their students need to learn and concerned individuals, whom we call Citizen Philanthropists, choose the projects to fund. This is a non-profit agency. http://www.donorschoose.org/about/about.html

Untiny.me

You may notice that many of the URL’s in my newsletter begin with http://tinyurl.com. This service turns very long web addresses into shorter ones. Untiny.me retrieves the original so you will be able to access it if it is blocked by your server. http://untiny.me/

About Catch the Storybug Newsletter

This monthly or bi-monthly newsletter is researched and written by Karen Chace, Professional Storyteller, Author, Web Researcher, Workshop Leader, Storytelling Teacher and Story Coach.